New York Competition – The Millrose Games

It’s been 10 days since my last competition and I needed the down time to get ready and rest up for my next competition. After each competition, I like to evaluate the great things I did and the mistakes I made, similar to how Soliant evaluates a call to a candidate or client. Correcting my mistakes and highlighting the successful things I do is the perfect recipe for success.

After a great week of training, I was confident and ready to compete in New York. I arrived in New York on February 10th, a day early before my competition. I actually missed my original flight and had to take the next flight out, but that is another story! It was snowing and the weather in New York was cold and windy, and the streets were always bumper to bumper traffic. There was what seemed like millions of people wandering around the city and every block featured a towering skyscraper. I have been to New York a couple of times when I was younger and I never had the chance to explore the city. After my competition, I planned to do a little exploring.

On competition day, I arrived at the facility and was anxious to get started. I was told that I would be competing in Madison Square Garden, but it turns out the competition was moved to The Armory. I was upset because I was excited to go to the Garden, but it wasn’t that important. I had to stay focused.

The Armory is a really nice facility with a great atmosphere and the fact that it was sold out helped a lot. After I checked in to my event, I started to warm up. I was scheduled to jump at 7:30 p.m., but the opening ceremony rolled over into our competition time. I didn’t panic about this because I was trained to always be ready for the unexpected. After the ceremony was over, I only had 10 minutes to get a mark down and take a few practice jumps and start.

The competition came down to Jesse Williams and me. Jesse Williams is the defending world champion, and ranked #1 in the U.S. I managed to jump a season-best of 7’5″ but he was able to clear 7’7.25″. In the end, I was happy with my results. I am in the right position heading into my last indoor meet, which is February 25th in New Mexico.

After the Competition
I went back to my hotel at about 9:30 p.m. after my competition and immediately went to a pizza place on the corner and paid $10 for two slices of pizza. After that, I went and bought some cheesecake. I know this food is not a part of my diet, but sometimes you have to live a little. I was very sleepy at this point and just wanted to get a shower and go to sleep. My roommate suggested that we go out and see what the nightlife is like in New York. Even though I was exhausted, I still went. The bad thing about New York is everybody walks, rides the subway or takes a taxi. No one drives! I took a taxi with some friends and went bar hopping in Times Square. I had fun and was excited to see Times Square. The time went by so fast, before I knew it, it was almost 3 a.m. I went back to my hotel with just enough time to pack my bag and get two hours of sleep and head to the airport. New York was fun and I can’t wait to go back.

Next Competition: Albuquerque, New Mexico, on February 25th – USA Indoor Nationals

Keith, GREAT JOB! You were only 1.5 inches shorter than your all time best. How did I know that you would go out for pizza? Jesse Williams doesn’t have anything on you kid. Keep up the good work. Oh, and good luck finding your horse when you come back! 🙂

Keith, you are inspiring! To be able to stay laser-focused on your performance with all of the changes (switching locations, ceremony running over, etc), is amazing. Definitely makes the road blocks and hurdles I face seem small! Good luck this weekend at the US Nationals.

Congrats, Keith!! It’s awesome to know that we have a true champion in our ranks. I wish you best of success as you continue to the next level of competition and I look forward to cheering you on in the upcoming olympics!!!

You’re doing GREAT Keith, Keep it Up!! Best of luck this weekend in New Mexico!! I won’t let BB steal anything from your desk and I’ll be sure to save the rest of the Sweet Tarts (except the purple and blue ones, those are mine) 🙂 GOOD LUCK BUDDY!!